Greek to me

That's Greek to me or it's (all) Greek to me is an idiom in English referring to an expression that is difficult to understand for the sayer. It is commonly a complex or imprecise verbal or written expression or diagram, often containing excessive use of jargon, dialect, mathematics, science, or symbols.

Although to some it may seem an insult, the metaphor simply refers to the Greek language (either ancient or modern) as typifying foreign communication, written or spoken, and may be a dead metaphor, one that has lost its original understood meaning.

Origins

It may have been a direct translation of a similar phrase in Latin: Graecum est; non potest legi ("it is Greek, [therefore] it cannot be read").^[1] The phrase is widely believed to have its origins among medieval scribes. While most scribes were familiar with Latin, few were schooled in Greek. When copying classic manuscripts they would frequently encounter passages and quotations in Greek which they would have no way of translating, and as such would note the phrase in the margins.

Recorded usage of the metaphor in English traces back to the early modern period. It appears in 1599 in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, as spoken by Servilius Casca to Cassius after a festival in which Caesar was offered a crown:

CASSIUS: Did Cicero say any thing?

CASCA: Ay, he spoke Greek.

CASSIUS: To what effect?

CASCA: Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too: Marullus and Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Caesar's images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.
— William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (1599)

Here, Casca's literal ignorance of Greek is the source of the phrase, using its common meaning to play on the uncertainty among the conspirators about Cicero's attitude to Caesar's increasingly regal behaviour.

Shakespeare was not the only author to use the expression. It was also used in 1603 by Thomas Dekker in his play Patient Grissel:

FAR: Asking for a Greek poet, to him he fails. I'll be sworn he knows not so much as one character of the tongue.
RIC: Why, then it's Greek to him.
— Thomas Dekker, Patient Grissel (1603)

The expression is almost exclusively used with reference to the speaker (generally "Greek to me"); Dekker's "Greek to him" is rare.

Variations

Different languages have similar formulations. Many have picked the point of reference to be a foreign language with another alphabet or writing system.

This is an example of the usage of demonyms in relation to the ability of a people to be understood, comparable to the development of the words barbarian (one who babbles), Nemec (Slavic for "the mute one," indicating Germans).

In other languages

In an article published by Arnold L. Rosenberg in the language journal Lingvisticæ Investigationes, he claimed that there was a popular "consensus" that Chinese was the "hardest" language, since various non-English languages most frequently used the Chinese language in their equivalent expression to the English idiom "it's all Greek to me".^[2] Also, David Moser of the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies made the same claim as Arnold L. Rosenberg.^[3]

Language	Phrase	Pronunciation	Translation	Target language / meaning
English	It's Double Dutch.			Double Dutch (Tutnese)
	That's Greek to me.			Greek
	Chicken scratch.			illegible writing
Albanian	Mos fol kinezce.		Do not speak Chinese.	Chinese
Afrikaans	Dis Grieks vir my.		It's Greek to me.	Greek
Arabic	يتحدث باللغة الصينية	yataḥaddaṯ bil-luġah aṣ-Ṣīnīyah [jataˈħadːaθ bɪlˈluɣa asˤːiːˈniːja]	He's speaking Chinese.	Chinese The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.
Arabic, Syrian Colloquial	يحكي كرشوني	yaḥki Karšūni [ˈjaħki karˈʃuːni]	He's speaking Syriac.	Syriac, using the Garshuni (Arabic) script as a reference to it. The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.
Arabic, Egyptian Colloquial	بيتكلم بالهندي	byatkallam bel-hendi [bjætˈkælːæm belˈhendi]	He's speaking Hindi.	Hindi The verb in the example can be conjugated in other forms.
Asturian	Suename chinu Ta'n chinu.		It sounds like Chinese to me. It's in Chinese.	Chinese
Bulgarian	Все едно ми говориш на патагонски.	Vse edno mi govoriš na patagonski. [fsɛ ɛdˈnɔ mi ɡɔˈvɔriʃ na pataˈɡɔnskʲi]	It's as if you're talking in Patagonian.	"Patagonian"
Cantonese	呢個係咪鬼畫符呀？ / 呢个系咪鬼画符呀？	li1 go3 hai6 mai6 gwai2 waak6 fu4 aa3 [liː˥ kɔ˧ hɐi˨ mɐi˨ kwɐi˧˥ waːk̚˨ fuː˨˩ aː˧]	Is this ghost script?	"ghost script" Refers to illegible handwriting.
Catalan	Com si diguessis Llúcia	[kom si di'ɣes:is 'ʎusiə]	As if you say Lucy; not referring to a language
Cebuano	Linatin		Latin	Latin, a language used in rituals by holy men such as Catholic priests, faith healers, and talisman owners.
Cebuano	Ininsik		Chinese	Chinese
Chavacano	Aleman ese comigo.		It's German to me.	German
Croatian	To su za mene španska sela.	[tô su za měne ʃpǎːnska sêla]	These are to me the Spanish countryside.	Spanish
Czech	To je pro mě španělská vesnice.	[ˈto jɛ ˈpro mɲɛ ˈʃpaɲɛlskaː ˈvɛsɲɪtsɛ]	This is a Spanish village to me.	Spanish
Danish	Det rene volapyk.	[te̝ ˈʁeˀnə volɑˈpʰyk]	This is pure Volapük	Volapük, a 19th century constructed language
Danish	Det er en by i Rusland.		This is a town in Russia.	Russian
Dutch	Dat is Chinees voor mij.	[dɑt ɪs ʃiˈneːs foːr mɛi]^[4]	That is Chinese to me.	Chinese
Dutch	Ik snap er geen jota van.		I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.^[5]	Greek
Esperanto	Tio estas volapukaĵo.	[ˈtio ˈestas volapuˈkaʒo]	It's all Volapük.	Volapük, a 19th century constructed language
Estonian	See on mulle hiina keel.		This is Chinese to me.	Chinese
Filipino	Parang Intsik		It looks like Chinese.	Chinese
Finnish	Täyttä hepreaa.	[ˈtæy̯tːæ ˈhepreɑː]	It's all Hebrew.	Hebrew
	Kuulostaa siansaksalta		Sounds like pig's German	gibberish
	harakanvarpaita (refers to undecipherable writing)		Magpie's toes	unintelligible writing (gibberish)
French	C'est du chinois. C'est de l'hébreu. C'est du russe.	[s‿ɛ dy ʃinwa] [s‿ɛ də l‿ebʁø] [s‿ɛ dy ʁys]	It's Chinese. It's Hebrew. It's Russian.	Chinese Hebrew Russian
German	Das kommt mir spanisch vor.		That sounds like Spanish to me. (usually meant to indicate something is fishy)	Spanish
	Spreche ich Chinesisch?		Am I speaking Chinese?	Chinese
	Fachchinesisch		specialty Chinese (meaning technical jargon)	Chinese
	Kauderwelsch		trade Romance	Mediterranean Lingua Franca
	Das sind böhmische Dörfer für mich	[ˌbøːmɪʃə ˈdœʁfɐ]	These are Bohemian villages to me	Czech, Bohemia being a region of the neighbouring Czech Republic that is nearest to Germany.
	Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof		All I understand is "train station."
	Polnisch rückwärts		Polish [spoken] in reverse	Polish
Greek, Standard Modern	Αυτά μου φαίνονται κινέζικα.	[afˈta mu ˈfenɔːnde ciˈnezika]	This strikes me as Chinese	Chinese
Greek, Standard Modern	Αυτά μου φαίνονται αλαμπουρνέζικα.	[afˈta mu ˈfeno(n)de ala(m)burˈnezika]	These seem to me gobbledygook.	"Alaburnese" (similar to gibberish)
Greek, Cypriot	Εν τούρτζικα που μιλάς;	[e‿ˈⁿduɾ̥t͡ʃi̞kɐ p̬u mi↗ˈlɐs]	Are you speaking Turkish?	Turkish
Hebrew	זה סינית בשבילי	[ze sinit biʃvili]	It's Chinese to me!	Chinese
Hebrew	כתב חרטומים	[ktav ħartˤumim]	The script of a pharaoh's magicians (i.e. hieroglyphics)	Hieroglyphics
Hindi, Urdu	क्या मैं फ़ारसी बोल रहा हूँ? کیا میں فارسی بول رہا ہوں؟	Kyā maĩ fārsī bol rahā hū̃?	Am I speaking Persian?	Persian
Hungarian	Ez nekem kínai.	[ˈɛz ˈnɛkɛm ˈkiːnɒi]	It's Chinese to me.	Chinese
Icelandic	Hrognamál	[ˈr̥ɔknaˌmauːl̥]	"fish-egg language"
Icelandic	Þetta er hebreska fyrir mér.	[ˈθɛhtɑ ɛr ˈhɛːprɛska ˈfɪːrɪr mjɛːr̥]	This is Hebrew to me.	Hebrew
Indonesian	(Tulisan) Cakar ayam		Chicken feet	gibberish Refers to unreadable writing.
Indonesian	Bahasa planet		(Other-)planet language	alien language
Italian	Questo per me è arabo/aramaico/ostrogoto/turco/cinese	[ˈkwesto per ˈme ˌɛ ˈaːrabo], [araˈmaiko], [ostroˈɡɔːto], [ˈtu:rko], [tʃiˈne:ze]	This is Arabic/Aramaic/Ostrogoth/Turkish/Chinese to me	Arabic, Aramaic, Ostrogoth, Turkish, Chinese
Japanese	珍紛漢紛	Chinpun kanpun [ˈtɕimpɯŋkamˌpɯɴ]	"Ching chong"	formal speech Refers to the "Chinese" sound of incomprehensible Chinese loanwords.
Javanese	Cakar pitik (refers to unreadable writing)		Chicken feet	gibberish
Javanese	Basa londo		Dutch language	Dutch
Korean	횡설수설하고 있다	Hoengseolsuseolhago itta	They are speaking horizontally and vertically.	gibberish, especially for unrecognizable spoken language or incoherence.
	괴발개발 (refers to unreadable writing)	Goebalgaebal	Cat's footprints and dog's footprints	gibberish
	아무 말이나 한다	Amu marina handa	They are speaking out random words.	gibberish
	외계어를 한다	Oegyeeoreul handa	They are speaking in an alien language.	alien language
	개소리를 한다	Gaesorireul handa	They are making a dog's sound.	gibberish
Latin	Graecum est; nōn legitur	[ˈɡrae̯kum est noːn ˈleɡitur]	This is Greek; it can't be read	Greek
Latvian	Tā man ir ķīniešu ābece	[taː man ir ciːnieʃu aːbetse]	This is Chinese alphabet book to me	Chinese
Lithuanian	Tai man kaip kinų kalba.	[taɪ mɐn kaɪp kinuˑ kɐlba]	It's Chinese to me	Chinese
Macedonian	За мене тоа е шпанско село.	Za mene toa e špansko selo. [za mɛnɛ tɔa ɛ ʃpaŋskɔ sɛlɔ]	It is for me a Spanish village.	Spanish
Malay	(Tulisan) Cakar ayam		Chicken feet	gibberish Refers to unreadable writing.
Mandarin	看起來像天書。/ 看起来像天书。	Kànqǐlái xiàng tiān shū [kʰan˥˩ tɕʰi˨˩ lai̯˧˥ ɕjɑŋ˥˩ tʰjɛn˥ ʂu˥]	Looks like a book from Heaven	"Heaven's language" Refers to an unknown writing system, or god's language, c.f. A Book from the Sky.
	這是鬼畫符嗎？ / 这是鬼画符吗？	Zhè shì guǐhuàfú ma? [ʈʂɤ˥˩ ʂɻ̩˥˩ kwei˨˩ hwa˥˩ fu˧˥ ma˧]	Are these ghost-drawn marks?	"ghost language" Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting.
	聽起來像鳥語。/ 听起来像鸟语。	Tīngqǐlái xiàng niǎoyǔ. [tʰiŋ˥ tɕʰi˨˩ lai̯˧˥ ɕjɑŋ˥˩ njɑʊ̯˧˥ y˨˩]	Sounds like bird language.	"bird language" (bird song) Refers to incomprehensible speech.
	火星文	Huǒxīng wén [xwɔ˨˩ ɕiŋ˥ wən˧˥]	Martian writing	"Martian" Usually refers to comically unconventional writing, but is also often used in the same context of unintelligible words or text.
Low Saxon	Dat kümmt mi spaansch vör.	[dat kymt miː spoːnʃ føɐ]	That seems like Spanish to me.	Spanish
Norwegian	Det er helt gresk for meg.		It's complete Greek to me	Greek
Persian	انگار ژاپنی حرف می زنه	[engɒːr ʒɒːponiː hærf miːzæne]	It's as if he/she's speaking Japanese	Japanese
Persian	مگه ترکی حرف میزنم؟	[mæge torkiː hærf miːzænæm]	Am I speaking Turkish?	Turkish
Polish	To dla mnie chińszczyzna.	[ˈtɔ dla ˈmɲɛ xʲij̃ˈʂtʂɨzna]	To me it's Chinese	Chinese
	Siedzieć jak na tureckim kazaniu	[ˈɕɛdʑɛtɕ ˈjak na tuˈrɛtskʲim kaˈzaɲu]	Sit as in a Turkish sermon	Turkish
	Czeski film	[ˈtʂɛskʲi ˈfilm]	Czech movie (this one refers to an incomprehensible situation rather than words, coined after a wave of absurdist movies in Czech cinematography)	Czech
Portuguese	Isto para mim é chinês.	[ˈiʃtu pəɾə ˈmĩ ɛ ʃiˈneʃ]	This is Chinese to me	Chinese (Portugal)
	Isto para mim é grego.	[ˈiʃtu pəɾə ˈmĩ ɛ ˈɣɾeɣu]	This is Greek to me	Greek (Portugal)
	Não entendo grego/hebraico/aramaico.	[nɜ̃w ĩˈtẽdu ˈɡɾeɣu], [ĩˈtẽd eˈbɾajku], [ĩˈtẽd(w) ɜɾəˈmajku]	I don't understand Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic	Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic (Brazil)
	Não falo grego/hebraico/aramaico.	[nɜ̃w ˈfalu ˈɡɾeɣu], [ˈfal eˈbɾajku], ˈ[fal(w) ɜɾəˈmajku]	I don't speak Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic	Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic (Brazil)
	Você está falando grego/latim/árabe. Você fala em... (ditto)	[ˈse ˈta fɜˈlɜ̃du ˈɡɾeɣu], [lɐˈtʃĩ], [ˈaɾəβi] [voˈse ˈfalə̯ ĩ ˈɡɾeɣu (...)]	You are speaking Greek/Latin/Arabic.	Greek, Latin, Arabic (Brazil)
	Você está falando grego/latim/árabe?	[ˈse ˈta fɜˈlɜ̃du ˈɡɾeɣu (...)]	Are you speaking Greek/Latin/Arabic?	Greek, Latin, Arabic (Brazil)
	Não leio japonês. Não sei ler japonês/árabe.	[nɜ̃w ˈlej.ju ʒɜpuˈneʃ] [nɜ̃w ˈsej ˈleʁ ʒɐpoˈnes], [le ˈɾaɾəβi]	I can't read Japanese/Arabic	Japanese, Arabic (Brazil)
Proto-Germanic	*Þat isti Walhiskǭ furi mek.	[θɑt ˈisti ˈwɑlxiskɔ̃ː ˈɸuri miz]	It's to me Proto-Celtic.	Proto-Celtic
Proto-Slavic	*To estь Němьčьskъjь.	[]	It's Proto-Germanic.	Proto-Germanic
Romanian	Parcă e chineză.	[ˈparkə je kiˈnezə]	It's like Chinese.	Chinese
Romanian	Ești turc?	[jeʃtʲ ˈtuɾk]	Are you Turkish?	Turkish
Russian	Это для меня китайская грамота.	Eto dlja menjá kitájskaja grámota. [ˈɛtə ˈdʲlʲæ mʲɪˈnʲæ kʲɪˈtajskəjə ˈɡramətə]	That's Chinese writing to me.	Chinese, but emphasis is put on reading rather than speaking. The phrase is often applied when not understanding branches of knowledge like chemistry, maths or computing due to lack of familiarity.
Russian	Как курица лапой.		Like [scribbled by] chicken feet.	gibberish Refers to very poor, incomprehensible handwriting.
Serbian	То су за мене шпанска села. To su za mene španska sela.	[to su za mene ʃpanska sela]	These are to me a Spanish village.	Spanish
Serbian	К'о да кинески причаш. K'o da kineski pričaš.		Like speaking in Chinese	Chinese
Slovak	To je pre mňa španielska dedina.	[to je pre mɲa ʃpaɲielska ɟeɟina]	That is a Spanish village to me.	Spanish
Slovene	To mi je španska vas	[ˈtóː mi jɛ ˈʃpáːnska ˈʋáːs]	That is a Spanish village to me.	Spanish
Spanish	Está en chino/arameo/ruso. Me suena a chino/arameo/ruso.	[esˈta en ˈtʃino], [aɾaˈmeo] [me ˈswenaː ˈtʃino], [aɾaˈmeo]	This is in Chinese/Aramaic/Russian. It sounds like Chinese/Aramaic/Russian to me.	Chinese, Aramaic, Russian
Spanish	No entiendo ni jota	[no enˈtjendo ni ˈxota]	I don't understand one iota of it. Reference to Matthew 5:18.^[6]	Greek
Swedish	Det är rena grekiskan.	[ˈdeː æ ˈrěːna ˈɡrěːkɪskan]	It's pure Greek	Greek
Turkish	Konuya Fransız kaldım.^[7]	[konuja fɾansɯz kaɫˈdɯm]	I am French to the topic.	French, as from the viewpoint of a French person who doesn't understand any Turkish.
Turkish	Anladıysam arap olayım.^[8]	[anɫaˈdɯjsam aˈɾap oɫajɯm]	let me blacken, get dark skin ("turn into Arab") if I understood it (in Turkish "arap olayım" is used in idioms in similar sense to "God strike me down if ...", to emphasize that something is not true)^[9] (informal, old-fashioned, offensive)^[10]	None (Arab doesn't refer to nationality or language, but skin color)
Ukrainian	Це для мене китайська грамота.	Tse dlja mene kitajs'ka gramota. [ˈtsɛ dʲlʲɐ ˈmɛne kɪˈtɑjsʲkɐ ˈɦrɑmotɐ]	That's Chinese writing to me.	Chinese
Venetian	Par mi xe turco.	[paɾ ˈmi ˌzɛ ˈtuɾko]	To me this is Turkish.	Turkish
Vietnamese	Nhìn/nghe như tiếng Miên.		(It) looks/sounds like Khmer	Khmer
Yiddish	תּרגום־לשון טערקיש אָץ־קוצץ־לשון מלאָכים־לשון חרטמים־לשון	targem-loshn terkish ots-koytsets-loshn malokhim-loshn khartumim-loshn	targum language (i.e. that of Aramaic translations of the Bible) Turkish gibberish the language of angels the language of a pharaoh's magicians (i.e. hieroglyphics)	Aramaic / Turkish / gibberish / angelic language / Hieroglyphics

References

^ "Etymology of Gringo". 17 April 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2021. The same phrase ["It was Greek to me"] was also used (at about the same time) by another Elizabethan playwright, Thomas Dekker, but its origins are much older: it comes from the Medieval Latin proverb Graecum est; non potest legi (i.e., "It is Greek; it cannot be read").
^ Rosenberg, Arnold L. (January 1979). "The Hardest Natural Languages". Lingvisticæ Investigationes. 3 (2): 323–339. doi:10.1075/li.3.2.07ros. ISSN 0378-4169.
^ Moser, D. Pīnyīn.Info. Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard. Retrieved Jun 4, 2011, http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html Archived 2011-05-21 at the Wayback Machine
^ In isolation, voor is pronounced [voːr].
^ "Ergens geen jota van snappen". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
^ Morcillo, José Juan. "Biblismos". La Tribuna de Albacete.
^ "Güncel Türkçe Sözlük'te Söz Arama" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
^ "Hürriyet Arama". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
^ "Güncel Türkçe Sözlük'te Söz Arama" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
^ ""Anladıysam Arap olayım" sözü rafa mı kalkıyor?" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-23.

External links

[snopes-1] "Etymology of Gringo". 17 April 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2021. The same phrase ["It was Greek to me"] was also used (at about the same time) by another Elizabethan playwright, Thomas Dekker, but its origins are much older: it comes from the Medieval Latin proverb Graecum est; non potest legi (i.e., "It is Greek; it cannot be read").

[2] Rosenberg, Arnold L. (January 1979). "The Hardest Natural Languages". Lingvisticæ Investigationes. 3 (2): 323–339. doi:10.1075/li.3.2.07ros. ISSN 0378-4169.

[Moser-3] Moser, D. Pīnyīn.Info. Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard. Retrieved Jun 4, 2011, http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html Archived 2011-05-21 at the Wayback Machine

[4] In isolation, voor is pronounced [voːr].

[5] "Ergens geen jota van snappen". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-17.

[6] Morcillo, José Juan. "Biblismos". La Tribuna de Albacete.

[7] "Güncel Türkçe Sözlük'te Söz Arama" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2012-01-19.

[8] "Hürriyet Arama". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2012-11-27.

[9] "Güncel Türkçe Sözlük'te Söz Arama" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2021-06-23.

[10] ""Anladıysam Arap olayım" sözü rafa mı kalkıyor?" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-23.

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v t e William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Sources	Parallel Lives
Screen adaptations	Julius Caesar (1914 film) Julius Caesar (1950 film) Julius Caesar (1953 film) The Spread of the Eagle (1963; TV) Julius Caesar (1970 film) BBC Television Shakespeare (TV) Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (TV)
Inspired work	La morte di Cesare (1788) The Assassination of Julius Caesar (Sullivan) Shakespeare Writing "Julius Caesar" (1907) Caesar (1937) Die Ermordung Cäsars (1959) Dead Caesar (2007) The Karaoke King (2007) Roman Tragedies (2007) Julius Caesar (overture, 1851) Zulfiqar (2016)
Quotes	"The dogs of war" "Et tu, Brute?" "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" "Greek to me"
Related	Cultural depictions of Julius Caesar Assassination of Julius Caesar Caesar's Comet Ides of March Battle of Philippi Me and Orson Welles (2008) Caesar Must Die (2012)
Category

Origins

Variations

In other languages

See also

References

External links